Tuesday, 27 August 2013

It's been a while since I last updated my blog. I've been busier then ever before, which of course is fantastic, but also means I'm having to prioritise certain things over others.

I've been lucky enough to work with some great people on some amazing projects - all of which I'll be sharing with you very soon! Until then, here's a look at what's been keeping me working late into the night recently.

That's it for now!

Sorry it was a short one,

I'll make sure the next post is jam packed with super cool stuff to make up for it!

Sunday, 11 August 2013

Today's blog post is a guest post by Vincent Paul - freelance writer and photographer who usually blogs over at Revonoid - A resource for artists. He was kind enough to give us this insight into his work and a fresh perspective to this blog!

Two
Reasons why Writers Become Photographers These Days

As a freelance writer and photographer,
many people have asked me the question “why both?” Is it because you’re not
happy with the current job you have? Or is because you’re bored of writing
altogether? Well, I can honestly say
that it’s not that at all. I’ve never been bored of writing or not happy with
it, in fact I’m always looking for ways to get more work. The way I see it is
simple;

There’s two reasons why someone that is
known for their writing would all of sudden become a photographer.

1 - Passion
for telling a story –
Writing is a great way to express your feelings or tell a story but sometimes
it’s not enough. Have you ever heard of the quote “A picture is worth a
thousand words”? That’s exactly it! By taking photographs you are entering
another world and another way of communicating with people. When writing I feel
that I need to add more and sometimes
writing isn’t going to provide that “more” I’m looking for. Not only are you
given this chance to create and use the artistic freedom that everyone has but
your voice is so much louder through photographs.

It might be
surprising to try something new like photography. I remember when I first got
into photography, I didn’t understand how a DSLR worked or the terminology that
everyone was using at the time. Wouldn’t you say that’s like trying anything
new for the first time? Getting that feeling of disappointment; also known as
feeling clueless. Well, I admit that I felt that way but I didn’t let it stop
me from getting started with photography.

The best part
about trying something new like photography is the fact that anyone can do it.
The barrier of entry is extremely low and it seems that everyone has a camera
these days. Even if you don’t have a camera you can use your phone camera to
get use to taking photographs.

This overall
made the process of writing a lot easier because I can simply take a photograph
to help describe what I was talking about in my writing. Ever give an example
in your writing? Well, to help support my example I took a few photographs.
This isn’t just for the idea of photograph in fact it relates directly to
illustrations to. The next time you’re talking to your graphic designer
(illustrator) let them know you want some extra photos that can help promote
your work! They might be able to do some banner work for you that are going to
provide some huge support for running your eBook campaigns.

1.
Creating Original Content for
Multiple Purposes - I was able to use photograph as a way to not only help tell
a story but promote myself. If you’re a writer for an eBook series and you want
to get some people excited about your book what are you going to do? At one
point, I leant that taking out my camera and shooting a few photographs of
things related to my eBook series was affordable and useful. In fact, I was
able to use those photographs inside my books because of it being “original
content”.

It’s
a great medium to explore because you can use it for many things. For example;
maybe social media is important to you and you feel that everyone around you on
the internet needs to see what you’re up to each day. By taking photographs
of what you’re doing or what you’re about to do it makes things easier compared
to writing about it.

Shooting photographs is fun and
always worth trying. You’ll find that each photograph comes out differently and
that’s the exciting part about it. Sometimes it’s a good switch from the
writing that you do. I’m always in my office working on page after page for my photography
eBooks , it’s a nice break but I’m still being productive.

Conclusion: Anyone can start your
Photography Experience!

Everyone is an artist, and
the company I write for; Revonoid , believes
strongly in that concept. That goes for writers, illustrators and
photographers! We all have at least a little creativity in our mind.

­For more information about
getting started as a photographer visit Revonoid.com

If you are interested in doing a guest blog too, then email me at izzybean@izzybean.co.uk

About Me

Izzy Bean is a freelance children's picture book illustrator from UK who specialises in digital cartoon paintings that are vibrant, colourful and full of life and emotion.

Working directly with clients from all over the world, including first time authors, ebook creators and indie writers, her illustrations capture the hearts of children and adults alike. Izzy can also provide physical and ebook layout and formatting at a highly competative rate - providing a finished product that can be published directly to Amazon Kindle, Createspace, Lulu, Lightning Source, Apple iBooks and more.